Semiconductor memory device and a method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A memory cell of an SRAM has two drive MISFETs and two vertical MISFETs. The p channel vertical MISFETs are formed above the n channel drive MISFETs. The vertical MISFETs respectively mainly include a laminate formed of a lower semiconductor layer, intermediate semiconductor layer and upper semiconductor layer laminated in this sequence, a gate insulating film of silicon oxide formed on the surface of the side wall of the laminate, and a gate electrode formed so as to cover the side wall of the laminate. The vertical MISFETs are perfect depletion type MISFETs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 12/491,756, filed Jun. 25, 2009 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,829,952),which, in turn, is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No.11/714,865, filed Mar. 7, 2007 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,598,133), which, inturn, is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No.10/465,550, filed Jun. 20, 2003 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,279,754), and theentire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, to a method ofmanufacturing a semiconductor memory device, and to a technique foreffectively applying the device and method to a semiconductor memorydevice comprising a SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) in which a memorycell is formed from four MISFETs.

An SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), which is a type ofgeneral-purpose MOS semiconductor memory device, may comprise four nchannel type MISFETs (Metal Insulator Field Effect Transistors) and twop channel type MISFETs for example. However, in a “perfect CMOS”(Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) SRAM, which is of the sametype, six MISFETs are arranged in a principal surface of a semiconductorsubstrate, so that reduction of the memory cell size is difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A technique has been proposed, e.g., as discussed, for example, inJapanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8(1996)-88328,corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,810, and Japanese PatentApplication Laid-Open No. 5(1993)-236394, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No.5,550,396, for reducing the memory cell size in SRAM cells comprisingsix MISFETs by forming a channel part in the side walls of a groove insome of the MISFETs forming the memory cell, and forming a gateelectrode so as to fill this groove.

The size of a memory cell is determined by the number of transistorswhich form the memory cell. For example, in the case of the aforesaidperfect CMOS type SRAM, wherein four n channel type MISFETs and two pchannel type MISFETs are arranged on a semiconductor substrate,sufficient space for six transistors is required, which increases thememory cell size and makes the manufacturing process complex. Also, asthis perfect CMOS type SRAM requires a well isolation region whichseparates the n channel type MISFET and p channel type MISFET, thememory cell size increases even more.

A technique for forming a SRAM cell from a transistor using thin-filmtransistor technology is disclosed, for example, by Japanese PatentApplication Laid-Open No. Hei 6 (1994)-104405. As disclosed in thispublication, the source, channel region and drain of a thin-filmtransistor are arranged in the direction of extension of a polysiliconlayer, which extends in the same direction as that of a bit line.

Thus, since the source, channel region and drain of the thin-filmtransistor are arranged in a plane parallel to the principal surface ofthe substrate, regions for this purpose are required in the extensiondirection, and since a region is also required for interconnections tothe thin-film transistor, the memory cell size increases.

The circuit layout of a four transistor SRAM cell using thin-filmtransistors is disclosed by Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.Hei 5(1993)-62474, however, the specific construction of the thin-filmtransistors is not mentioned.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a technique whichcan reduce the memory cell size of an SRAM.

Other objects and novel features of the present invention will beunderstood from the description provided in this specification, withreference to the appended drawings.

The following are representative aspects of the invention disclosed inthis application.

A semiconductor memory device comprises a memory cell including firstand second drive MISFETs and first and second vertical MISFETs, whichare disposed at the intersection of a pair of complementary data linesand a word line, the first drive MISFET and second drive MISFET beingcross-coupled, wherein:

the first vertical MISFET is formed so as to be higher than the firstdrive MISFET that is formed on the principal surface of thesemiconductor substrate, and the second vertical MISFET is formed so asto be higher than the second drive MISFET that is formed on theprincipal surface of the semiconductor substrate,

the first and second vertical MISFETs respectively comprise a source, achannel region and a drain formed in a laminate extending in aperpendicular direction from the principal surface of the semiconductorsubstrate, and a gate electrode formed via a gate insulating film on theside walls of the laminate.

The gate electrodes of the vertical MISFETs are formed in the shape ofside spacers, which self-align with the side walls of the laminate, sothat the side wall perimeter of the laminate is surrounded.

The vertical MISFETs are a perfect depletion type MISFET.

A capacitative element is connected to a charge storage node of thecross-couple connection.

A complementary data line is formed above the vertical MISFET, one ofthe source and drain of the vertical MISFET is electrically connected tothis complementary data line, and a word line is electrically connectedto the gate electrodes of the vertical MISFETs.

The complementary data line extends above the laminate so as to runtransverse to the laminate, whereas the word line is electricallyconnected to the gate electrodes of the first and second verticalMISFETs, and it is formed under the complementary data line.

One of the source and drain of the first vertical MISFET is formed so asto overlap superficially on the drain region of the first drive MISFET,and one of the source and drain of the second vertical MISFET is formedso as to overlap superficially on the drain region of the second driveMISFET.

The above-mentioned semiconductor memory device is manufactured by thefollowing methods.

In the step of forming a connection hole for the cross-coupleconnection, the photolithography step and etching step of forming oneconnection hole is different from the photolithography step and etchingstep of forming the other connection hole.

The step of forming the laminate comprises a step of forming a masklayer for etching the film comprising the laminate above the film, astep of forming a photoresist pattern above the mask layer, a step ofslimming the photoresist pattern, and a step of etching the mask layerusing the slimmed photoresist pattern as a mask.

The gate electrodes of the vertical MISFET are formed in the shape ofside wall spacers which self-align with the side walls of the laminate,so that the side wall perimeter of the laminate is surrounded.

A word line, which is electrically connected with the gate electrodes ofthe first and second vertical MISFETs, is formed by embedding aconductive film in an interconnection groove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing a memory cell of asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a memory cell of a semiconductor memorydevice according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line A-A′ and a line B-B′in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 22 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 26 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 28 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 30 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 31 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 33 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 35 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 38 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 39 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 40 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 41 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 42 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 43 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 44 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 45 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 46 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 48 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 49 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 50 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 51 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 52 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 53 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 54 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 55 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 56 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 57 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 58 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 59 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 60 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 61 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 62 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing a memory cell of asemiconductor memory device according to another embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 63 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to another embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 64 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to another embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 65 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to another embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 66 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to another embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 67 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to another embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 68 is a schematic plan view describing the construction of thememory array and peripheral circuit of a semiconductor memory deviceaccording to another embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 69 is a circuit diagram of a latch circuit forming a part of theperipheral circuit.

FIG. 70 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to another embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 71 is a plan view showing a method of manufacturing a semiconductormemory device according to another embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 72( a) is a plan view showing a flat pattern of a gate electrodeformed by two etching steps, and FIG. 72( b) is a plan view showing aflat pattern of a gate electrode formed by one etching step.

FIG. 73 is a plan view of a latch circuit showing a method ofmanufacturing a semiconductor memory device according to anotherembodiment of this invention.

FIG. 74 is a plan view of a latch circuit comprising a MISFET whereinthe gate electrodes are formed by one etching step.

FIG. 75 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to another embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 76 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to another embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 77 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to another embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 78 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to another embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 79 is a cross-sectional view showing a method of manufacturing asemiconductor memory device according to another embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 80 is a cross sectional view including a graph showing aconcentration profile of impurities doped in an intermediate layer of avertical MISFET.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereafter, some embodiments of this invention will be described indetail with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the samesymbols are assigned to identify members having the same functions, andtheir description is not repeated.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a memory cell of a SRAMaccording to one embodiment of this invention. As shown in the diagram,a memory cell (MC) of this SRAM comprises two drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂)arranged at the intersection of a pair of complementary data lines (BLT,BLB) and a word line (WL), and comprises two drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂)and vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂). The two drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) are nchannel MISFETs, and the two vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) comprise pchannel type MISFETs of the vertical construction type, as will bementioned later.

The gate electrodes of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) are respectivelyconnected to one word line (WL). One of the source and drain of thefirst vertical MISFET (SV₁) is connected to one (BLT) of thecomplementary data lines (BLT, BLB), and the other of the source anddrain is connected to the drain of the first drive MISFET (DR₁) and thegate electrode of the second drive MISFET (DR₂), so as to form onestorage node (A). One of the source and drain of the second verticalMISFET (SV₂) is connected to the other (BLB) of the complementary datalines (BLT, BLB), and the other of the source and drain is connected tothe drain of the second drive MISFET (DR₂) and the gate electrode of thefirst drive MISFET (DR₁), so as to form another storage node (B). Of thestorage nodes (A, B) of the memory cell (MC), one is held at a H (High)level, and the other is held at a L (Low) level to store 1 bit ofinformation.

Thus, in the memory cell (MC) of this embodiment, the drive MISFETs(DR₁, DR₂) and vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) are cross-coupled, and forman information storage device which stores 1 bit of information.

The sources of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) are connected to a referencevoltage (Vss) of, for example, 0V.

The memory cell (MC) of this embodiment has a construction such that itretains a charge using a leakage current (I_(OFF) (P)) when the verticalMISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) forming the p channel type MISFET are OFF. That is,during a standby state (when information is retained), a supply voltage(Vdd(>Vss)) of higher potential than the reference voltage (Vss) issupplied to each of the word line (WL) and complementary data lines(BLT, BLB). Due to this, the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) are in the OFFstate, and the supply voltage (Vdd) is supplied to one of the source anddrain of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) in the OFF state via thecomplementary data line (BLT, BLB). At this time, by making the leakagecurrent (I_(OFF) (P)) of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) larger than theleakage current (I_(OFF) (N)) of the drive MISFETs (DR₁ or DR₂) in theOFF state, a current (leakage current (I_(OFF) (P)) is supplied from acomplementary data line to the storage node on the H level side via thevertical MISFET, and the H level (Vdd) is maintained.

Also, the drive MISFET whose gate was electrically connected to thestorage node on the H level side is maintained in the ON condition, andthe storage node is held on the L level side (Vss). Thus, during thestandby state (when information is retained), a charge is held, andinformation is held. The vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) and drive MISFETs(DR₁, DR₂) are arranged so that the leakage current (I_(OFF) (P)) of thevertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) is larger than the leakage current (I_(OFF)(N)) of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) (I_(OFF)(N)<I_(OFF) (P)); and,although there is no particular limitation, a charge can be effectivelyretained if the ratio of I_(OFF) (P) to I_(OFF) (N) is 10 to 1 or more.

Reading and writing of information are fundamentally identical to thoseof an ordinary perfect CMOS type memory cell comprising six MISFETs.That is, for reading information, the reference voltage (Vss) is appliedto a selected word line (WL), the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) are turnedON, and the potential difference of a pair of storage nodes is read bythe complementary data lines (BLT, BLB). For writing information, thereference voltage (Vss) is applied to a selected word line (WL), thevertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) are turned ON, and the ON, OFF operation ofthe drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) are reversed by connecting one side of thecomplementary data line (BLT, BLB) to the supply voltage (Vdd) andconnecting the other side to the reference voltage (Vss).

Thus, the memory cell (MC) of this embodiment has a construction whereinthe vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) have the double function of a transferMISFET and a load MISFET of the perfect CMOS type memory cell comprisingsix MISFETs. During the standby state, the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂)function as a load MISFET, and during read/write operations, thevertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) function as a transfer MISFET. In thisconstruction, the memory cell comprises four MISFETs, so that the memorycell size can be reduced. Also, as will be described later, since thevertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) are formed above the drive MISFETs (DR₁,DR₂), the memory cell size can be further reduced.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the specific construction of theabove-mentioned memory cell (MC). The left-hand side of FIG. 3 is asectional view through a line A-A′ of FIG. 2, and the right-hand side isa sectional view through a line B-B′ of FIG. 2. The rectangular regionenclosed by four (+) marks as shown in FIG. 2, shows the occupancyregion of one memory cell. These (+) marks are shown in the drawing tomake the figure clearer, and are not actually formed on thesemiconductor substrate. FIG. 2 shows only the main conductive layerswhich constitute the memory cell, and their connection regions. Theinsulating film formed between the conductive layers is omitted.

For example, a p type well 4 is formed in the principal surface of thesemiconductor substrate (hereafter, substrate) 1 comprising p typesingle crystal silicon. Two drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) forming a part ofthe memory cell (MC) are formed in the active region (L) whose perimeterwas specified by an isolation groove 2 of this p type well 4. Aninsulating film 3 comprising silicon oxide, for example, is embedded inthe isolation groove 2 and forms an isolation part.

As shown in FIG. 2, the active region (L) has a flat rectangular patternextending in the lengthwise direction (Y direction) of the figure, andin the occupancy region of one memory cell, there are two active regions(L, L) which are arranged so as to be mutually parallel. Of the twodrive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂), one drive MISFET (DR₁) is formed in one activeregion (L), and the other drive MISFET (DR₂) is formed in the otheractive region (L).

Although it will be described later using FIG. 4, one of the activeregions (L) is formed in one piece with the other active region (L) ofone memory cell (upper side of figure) adjoining in the Y direction, andthe other active region (L) is formed in one piece with the activeregion (L) of another memory cell (lower side of figure) adjoining inthe Y direction.

Although it will be described later using FIG. 9 and FIG. 28, betweenthe drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) of memory cells adjoining in the Ydirection, a flat pattern (DR₁, DR₂) has axial symmetry relative to theboundary line in the transverse direction (X direction) of the figure,and between the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) of memory cells adjoining inthe X direction, the flat pattern has a point symmetry in the Xdirection. Due to this, the memory cell size can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 2, the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) comprise a gateinsulating film 6 mainly formed in the surface of the p type well 4,gate electrode 7A formed above the gate insulating film 6, and n⁺ typesemiconductor region 14 (source, drain) formed in the p type well 4 onboth sides of the gate electrode 7A. That is, the drive MISFETs (DR₁,DR₂) comprise an n channel type MISFET. The gate electrodes 7A of thedrive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) comprise a conductive film formed, for example,of n type polycrystalline silicon, and comprise a flat rectangularpattern extending in the X direction, which intersects perpendicularlywith the extension direction (Y direction) of the active region (L).That is, the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) are formed so that the channelwidth direction coincides with the X direction, and the channel lengthdirection corresponds with the Y direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, a reference voltage line 34 (Vss) is formed aboveone (source) of the n⁺ type semiconductor regions 14 (source, drain).The reference voltage line 34 (Vss) is electrically connected to the n⁺type semiconductor region (source) 14 via a plug 27 in a contact hole 24formed in the lower part. The reference voltage line 34 and plug 27comprise a metal film, for example, based mainly on the use of tungsten(W), so that its resistance is reduced. Due to this, the reading andwriting speed of the memory cell (MC) can be improved. In the followingdescription, the metal film based mainly on the use of tungsten (W) willbe simply referred to as a W film.

As shown in FIG. 2, the reference voltage lines 34 (Vss) are arranged,one at a time, at each end in the Y direction of the occupancy region ofone memory cell, and they extend mutually parallel in the X direction,which intersects perpendicularly with the extension direction (Ydirection) of the active region (L). One of the two reference voltagelines 34 (Vss), 34 (Vss) shown in this figure (upper side of memorycell) is electrically connected to the n⁺ type semiconductor region(source) 14 of the drive MISFET (DR₂) via the contact hole 24, and theother line (lower side of memory cell) is electrically connected to then⁺ type semiconductor region (source) 14 of the drive MISFET (DR₁) viathe contact hole 24. One of the two reference voltage lines 34 (Vss)(upper end of memory cell) is shared with the reference voltage line 34(Vss) of the memory cell adjoining in the Y direction (upper side offigure), and the other line (lower end of memory cell) is shared withthe reference voltage line 34 (Vss) of the memory cell adjoining in theY direction. Due to this, the memory cell size can be reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, two vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), which formpart of another memory cell (MC), are formed above the drive MISFETs(DR₁, DR₂). The vertical MISFET (SV₁) is formed above the drive MISFET(DR₁) and is arranged so that it overlaps with the drive MISFET (DR₁).Likewise, the vertical MISFET (SV₂) is formed above the drive MISFET(DR₂) and is arranged so that it overlaps with the drive MISFET (DR₂).

The vertical MISFET (SV₁) and drive MISFET (DR₁) of the memory cell (MC)are arranged with the vertical MISFET (SV₂) and drive MISFET (DR₂) at alocation which has point symmetry relative to the center of therectangular region enclosed by four (+) marks. Due to this, the memorycell size can be reduced.

The vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) mainly comprise a lower semiconductorlayer 47, an intermediate semiconductor layer 48 and an uppersemiconductor layer 49 laminated in that order perpendicular to theprincipal surface of the substrate, and they also comprise a laminate(P) whereof the flat pattern is a square pole (elliptical pole) shape, agate insulating film 53 formed on the surface of the laminate (P) and agate electrode 54 formed so as to surround the side walls of thelaminate (P).

The gate insulating film 53 comprises silicon oxide and is a monolayerfilm formed by low-temperature thermal oxidation (for example, wetoxidation) or CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) at a temperature of 800°C. or less, or a laminated film comprising a low-temperature thermaloxidation film and a CVD film. Thus, by forming the gate insulating film53 by a low temperature process, variations in the vertical MISFETs(SV₁, SV₂), such as the threshold value (Vth), can be reduced.

The gate electrode 54 comprises, for example, a silicon film, andcomprises n type polycrystalline silicon. The lower semiconductor layer47 of the laminate (P) is a p type silicon film, for example, p typepolycrystalline silicon, and it forms one of the source and drain of thevertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂). There is no particular limitation on theintermediate semiconductor layer 48, but it is a non-doped silicon film,for example, a non-doped polycrystalline silicon, which effectivelyforms the substrate of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), and its sidewalls form the channel region. The upper semiconductor layer 49 consistsof a p type silicon film, for example, a p type polycrystalline siliconfilm, and it forms the other of the source and drain of the verticalMISFETs (SV₁, SV₂). The upper semiconductor layer 49 is formed above thevertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), and the upper part of the laminate (P) iselectrically connected to the complementary data lines (BLT, BLB) whichrun transverse to the laminate (P). In other words, the vertical MISFETs(SV₁, SV₂) comprise a p channel type MISFET. In the vertical MISFET(SV₁, SV₂), the lower semiconductor layer 47 forms one of a source anddrain, and the upper semiconductor layer 49 forms the other of thesource and drain; however, in the following description, for the sake ofconvenience, the lower semiconductor layer 47 is defined as the sourceand the upper semiconductor layer 49 is defined as the drain.

Thus, in the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), the source, substrate (channelregion) and drain are perpendicularly laminated on the principal surfaceof a substrate, and a channel current flows in a perpendicular directionto the principal surface of the substrate, i.e., they form a verticalchannel MISFET. The channel length direction of the vertical MISFETs(SV₁, SV₂) is the direction perpendicular to the principal surface ofthe substrate, and the channel length is specified by the length betweenthe lower semiconductor layer 47 and the upper semiconductor layer 49 ina direction perpendicular to the principal surface of the substrate. Thechannel width of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) is specified by thelength of the side wall perimeter of the square pole laminate. Due tothis, the channel width of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) can beenlarged.

As will be described later, in the OFF state, when the supply voltage(Vdd) is applied to the gate electrode 54, the vertical p channel MISFET(SV₁, SV₂) will comprise a perfect depletion SOI(Silicon-On-Insulator)-vertical MISFET wherein the intermediatesemiconductor layer 48, which is the substrate of the vertical MISFET,is completely depleted, so that the OFF leakage urrent (I_(OFF) (P)) canbe reduced compared with the ON current (I_(ON) (P)) and the memory cell(MC) can be formed. The threshold (Vth) of the vertical p channel MISFET(SV₁, SV₂) is controlled by the work function of the gate electrode 54,e.g., the gate electrode 54 may comprise a p type silicon film (p typepolycrystalline silicon), p type SiGe film, non-doped SiGe film, n typeSiGe film and a high melting point metal film. Although the intermediatesemiconductor layer was described as a non-doped silicon film, theinvention is not limited thereto. For example, n type or p typeimpurities may be introduced into the intermediate semiconductor layer48 (channel doping), and by adjusting the profile of the channelimpurities in the perpendicular direction to the principal surface ofthe substrate, the intermediate semiconductor layer 48, which is thesubstrate of the vertical MISFET, can be completely depleted, and theOFF leakage current (I_(OFF) (P)) can be reduced compared with the ONcurrent (I_(ON) (P)).

As shown in FIG. 3, the lower semiconductor layer (source) 47 of thevertical MISFET (SV₁) is electrically connected to the n⁺ typesemiconductor region (drain) 14 of the drive MISFET (DR₁) via theconnecting conductive layer 46 formed in the lower part, and the plug 41in the contact hole 40 formed underneath this. The plug 41 in thecontact hole 40, which connects the lower semiconductor layer (source)47 of the vertical MISFET (SV₁) and the n⁺ type semiconductor region(drain) 14 of the drive MISFET (DR₁), is connected also to the gateelectrode 7A of the drive MISFET (DR₂), as shown in the right-hand sideof this figure. Although not shown in FIG. 3, the plug 41 in the contacthole 40, which connects the lower semiconductor layer (source) 47 of thevertical MISFET (SV₂) and the n⁺ type semiconductor region (drain) 14 ofthe drive MISFET (DR₂), is connected also to the gate electrode 7A ofthe drive MISFET (DR₁). In other words, the plugs 41, 41 in the twocontact holes 40, 40 formed in the memory cell function as a conductivelayer which cross-couples the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) and verticalMISFETs (SV₁, SV₂). The connecting conductive layer 46 comprises a metalfilm, for example, based mainly on W silicide (WSi₂), and the plug 41comprises a metal film for example based mainly on W. The connectingconductive layer 46 comprises a conductive film based mainly on Wsilicide (WSi₂), or a conductive film wherein a W silicide film islaminated on a metal film, and the plug 41 comprises a metal film basedmainly on W.

The connecting conductive layer 46 may comprise a conductive filmwherein a W film is laminated on a WN (titanium nitride) film. In thiscase, although the oxidation resistance margin decreases compared withthe conductive film based mainly on W silicide, there is the advantagethat the electrical resistance becomes small. The question, of which ofthese conductive films should be selected, should be determined byproduct specification. For example, for a medium or low speed operatingspecification, the conductive film based mainly on W silicide, which isexcellent for productivity, is selected, whereas for high speedoperation, the laminate based mainly on W, which gives priority toperformance, is selected.

The plugs 41, 41 in the two contact holes 40, 40 formed in the memorycell (MC) form a cross-coupled interconnection 41 which electricallyconnects the gate electrode 7A of one of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂)and the drain (n⁺ type semiconductor region 14) of the other of thedrive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂), and the laminates (P) of square pole shapeforming the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), are superimposed on the plugs41, 41.

That is, the laminate (P) of square pole shape is formed so that, asseen in plan view, it overlaps the drain (n⁺ type semiconductor region14) of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂), and the current path from the drain(n⁺ type semiconductor region 14) of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) to thelower semiconductor layer (source) 47, the intermediate semiconductorlayer 48 (substrate, channel) and the upper semiconductor layer 49(drain) of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) is formed so that currentmainly flows perpendicularly to the principal surface of the substrate.

Due to this, the memory cell size can be reduced. Further, the currentpath is formed so that current from the drain (n⁺ type semiconductorregion 14) of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) to the complementary datalines (BLT, BLB) via the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) mainly flowsperpendicular to the principal surface of the substrate, so that theread/write operating speed of the memory cell (MC) can be improved.

The gate electrodes 54 of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) are formed soas to surround the side walls of the square pole laminates (P), and theword line (WL), which was electrically connected with the gate electrode54 further outside this gate electrode 54, is formed so as to surroundthe laminates (P) and the gate electrode 54 of that side wall. The wordline (WL) comprises a conductive film, such as n type polycrystallinesilicon, as is used for the gate electrode 54.

As shown in FIG. 3, the word line (WL) is embedded in the groove 56 thatis formed in the insulating film, comprising a silicon oxide film 55around the laminate (P). As shown in FIG. 2, in plan view, one word line(WL) is arranged between the two reference voltage lines 34 (Vss), 34(Vss) at the upper end and lower end of the occupancy region of onememory cell, and it extends in the X direction in the same way as thereference voltage line 34 (Vss).

Due to this, the width of a word line (WL) can be made thick withoutincreasing the memory cell size, and the word line (WL) can be made tosurround the square pole laminate (P) forming the source, substrate(channel) and drain region of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂). The wordline (WL) contains conductive films, such as a Co silicide layer 60. Theword line (WL) may consist of a silicide film, a high melting pointmetal film or a metal film. Due to this, the resistance value isreduced, and the read/write operating speed of the memory cell (MC) canbe increased.

The complementary data lines (BLT, BLB) extend above the verticalMISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) so that the complementary data lines (BLT, BLB) runtransverse to the laminate (P), above the laminate (P). One (BLT) of thecomplementary data lines (BLT, BLB) is electrically connected with theupper semiconductor layer (drain) 49 of the vertical MISFET (SV₁) via aplug 65 formed in the topmost part of one laminate (P), and the other(BLB) is electrically connected to the upper semiconductor layer (drain)49 of the vertical MISFET (SV₂) via the plug 65 formed in the topmostpart of the other laminate (P). That is, the complementary data lines(BLT, BLB) are arranged so that the complementary data lines (BLT, BLB)overlap with the laminates (P) and are electrically connected to theupper semiconductor layer 49 (drain).

The complementary data lines (BLT, BLB) comprise a metal film based, forexample, mainly on copper (Cu). The plug 65 comprises a metal film basedmainly, for example, on W. Due to this, the read/write operating speedof the memory cell (MC) can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 2, one (BLT) of the complementary data lines (BLT, BLB)is arranged so that it overlaps with the active region (L) in which thedrive MISFET (DR₁) was formed, and it extends in the Y direction.

The other (BLB) of the complementary data lines (BLT, BLB) is arrangedso that it overlaps with the active region (L) in which the drive MISFET(DR₂) was formed, and it extends in the Y direction. Due to this, thememory cell size can be reduced.

Thus, the SRAM of this embodiment forms a memory cell from two driveMISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) and two vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), the verticalMISFET (SV₁) is formed above the drive MISFET (DR₁) and is arranged sothat it overlaps with the drive MISFET (DR₁). Likewise, the verticalMISFET (SV₂) is formed above the drive MISFET (DR₂) and is arranged sothat it overlaps with the drive MISFET (DR₂). Due to this layout, theoccupancy surface area of the memory cell is effectively equal to theoccupancy surface area of the two drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) and isapproximately ⅓ compared with a perfect CMOS type memory cell of thesame design rule comprising six MISFETs.

Since the SRAM of this embodiment is formed from p channel type verticalMISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) above n channel type drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂), itdiffers from the perfect CMOS type memory cell wherein a p channel typeload MISFET is formed in a n type well of a substrate, so that it isunnecessary to provide a region separating the p type well and n typewell in the occupancy region of one memory cell. Therefore, theoccupancy region of the memory cell is further reduced to approximately¼ of a perfect CMOS type memory cell having the same design rulescomprising six MISFETs, and a high speed, high capacitance SRAM can bemanufactured.

Next, the construction of the SRAM of this embodiment will be describedin still more detail together with a method of manufacture thereof withreference to FIG. 4-FIG. 61. In the cross-sectional views illustratingthe method of manufacturing the SRAM, the portion identified by thesymbol A-A′ represents a cross-section of the memory cell along a lineA-A′ in FIG. 2, the portion identified by the symbol B-B′ represents across-section of the memory cell along a line B-B′ in FIG. 2, and otherportions represent cross-sections of part of the peripheral circuitregion. The peripheral circuit of the SRAM comprises a n channel typeMISFET and a p channel type MISFET, but as these two types of MISFEThave almost identical constructions, except for the fact that theconductivity type is reversed, only one (the p channel type MISFET) isshown. Also, the n channel and p channel MISFETs which constitute theperipheral circuit may form a X and Y decoder circuit, a sense amplifiercircuit, an input/output circuit or a logical circuit, but this list isnot exhaustive, and the n channel and p channel MISFETs may also form alogical circuit, such as a microprocessor or CPU, etc. Also, in the planviews (plan views of the memory array) illustrating the method ofmanufacturing the SRAM, only the main conductive layers forming thememory cell and their connection regions are shown, and the insulatingfilms formed between the conductive layers are in principle omitted.

First, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an isolation groove 2 is formed in theisolation region of the principal surface of the substrate 1 whichcomprises p type single crystal silicon. An isolation part is formed byembedding the silicon oxide film 3 in the isolation groove 2, forexample, by forming the principal surface of a substrate 1 using dryetching, depositing an insulating film, such as the silicon oxide film3, by CVD on the substrate 1, including the interior of this groove 2,and then removing the unnecessary silicon oxide film 3 on the exteriorof the groove 2 by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Due to theformation of this isolation part, an island-shaped active region (L)having a perimeter specified by the isolation part is formed in theprincipal surface of the substrate 1 of the memory array.

As shown in FIG. 4, the active region (L) formed in the substrate 1 ofthe memory array has a flat rectangular pattern extending in thevertical direction (the Y direction) of the figure. Each of these activeregions (L) is shared by two memory cells adjoining in the Y direction.That is, one drive MISFET (DR₁ or DR₂) of one memory cell and one driveMISFET (DR₁ or DR₂) of one memory cell adjoining in the Y direction areformed in one active region (L).

FIG. 6 shows the flat pattern of the active region (L) formed in theoccupancy region of about 12 memory cells. The rectangular regionenclosed by four (+) marks, which is shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 representsthe occupancy region of one memory cell. The dimension thereof in thevertical direction (Y direction) is for example, 0.78 μm, and in thehorizontal direction (X direction) it is, for example, 0.72 μm. That is,the occupancy region of one memory cell is 0.72 μm×0.78 μm=0.5616 μm².

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, a p type well 4 and n type well 5 are formedby ion implantation of phosphorus (P) in part of the substrate 1 and ionimplantation of boron (B) in another part, heat-treating the substrate1, and diffusing phosphorus and boron in the substrate 1. As shown inthe figure, only the p type well 4 is formed, and the n type well 5 isnot formed, in the substrate 1 of the memory array. On the other hand, an type well 5 and a p type well, not shown, are formed in the substrate1 of the peripheral circuit region.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the substrate 1 is thermally oxidized to forma gate insulating film 6 having a film thickness of approx. 3 nm-4 nm,comprising silicon oxide in the surface of the p type well 4 and n typewell 5, respectively. Then, for example, a n type polycrystallinesilicon film is formed on the first gate insulating film 6 of the p typewell 4, a p type polycrystalline silicon film 7 p is formed on the firstgate insulating film 6 of the n type well 5, and a silicon oxide film 8having a film thickness of approx. 40 nm is deposited by CVD,respectively, above the n type polycrystalline silicon film 7 n and ptype polycrystalline silicon film 7 p.

In order to form the n type polycrystalline silicon film 7 n and p typepolycrystalline silicon film 7 p, a non-doped polycrystalline siliconfilm (or amorphous silicon film) having a film thickness of approx. 180nm is deposited by CVD on the gate insulating film 6, then phosphorus(or arsenic) is ion implanted in the polycrystalline silicon film (oramorphous silicon film) on the p type well 4, and boron is implanted inthe polycrystalline silicon film (or amorphous silicon film) on the ntype well 5.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a gate electrode 7A comprising a ntype polycrystalline silicon film 7 n on the p type well 4 of the memoryarray, and a gate electrode 7B comprising a p type polycrystallinesilicon film 7 p on the n type well 5 of the peripheral circuit region,are formed, for example, by dry etching the n type polycrystallinesilicon film 7 n and p type polycrystalline silicon film 7 p. Althoughnot shown, a gate electrode comprising the n type polycrystallinesilicon film 7 n is formed on the p type well 4 of the peripheralcircuit region at this time.

In order to form the gate electrodes 7A, 7B, for example, the siliconoxide film 8 is patterned by dry etching using a photoresist film as amask so that it has the same flat shape as the gate electrodes 7A, 7B,then the n type polycrystalline silicon film 7 n and the p typepolycrystalline silicon film 7 p are dry-etched using the patternedsilicon oxide film 8 as a mask. In the silicon oxide, the etchingselectivity ratio relative to the polycrystalline silicon is largecompared with the photoresist, so that the gate electrodes 7A, 7B can bepatterned with high precision compared with the case where thepolycrystalline silicon films (7 n, 7 p) are etched using thephotoresist as a mask, and the silicon oxide film 8 and polycrystallinesilicon films (7 n, 7 p) are etched continuously.

The gate electrode 7A, which is formed in the memory array, is the gateelectrode of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂). As shown in FIG. 9, this gateelectrode 7A has a flat rectangular pattern extending in the X directionof the figure, and the width in the Y direction, i.e., the gate length,is, for example, 0.13-0.14 μm.

Also, as shown in FIG. 9, the layouts of the two gate electrodes 7A, 7Aformed in the occupancy region of one memory cell are identical formemory cells adjoining in the X direction, but they are inverted formemory cells adjoining in the Y direction. That is, plural memory cellsarranged in the X direction have identical layouts, but plural memorycells arranged in the Y direction have mutually inverted layouts.

The above-mentioned gate electrodes 7A, 7B can also be formed by thefollowing methods.

First, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, dry etching of the silicon oxidefilm 8 is performed using a first photoresist film 16 a as a mask. Atthis time, as shown in FIG. 11, the silicon oxide film 8 is patterned ina belt shape in the X direction. Next, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, thesilicon oxide film 8 is patterned so that it has the same flat shape(rectangular) as the gate electrodes 7A, 7B using the second photoresistfilm 16 b as a mask. Subsequently, dry etching of the n typepolycrystalline silicon film 7 n and the p type polycrystalline siliconfilm 7 p is performed using this silicon oxide film 8 as a mask.

Thus, in the above-mentioned etching method, the silicon oxide film 8 ispatterned in the X direction, and then it is patterned in the Ydirection. Alternatively, it may be patterned in the Y direction, andthen patterned in the X direction. According to this etching method, toform a silicon oxide film 8 having the same flat shape (rectangular) asthe gate electrode 7A, etching must be performed twice using twodifferent masks, but pattern deformation can be lessened compared withthe case where the silicon oxide film 8 of the same flat shape(rectangular) as the gate electrode 7A is formed using one mask.

Specifically, if the rectangular pattern is formed by one etching whenthe gate length of the gate electrode 7A is very close to the wavelengthof the exposure light, the four corners of the rectangle will be roundeddue to light interference. For this reason, if the pattern widthdecreases near the end of gate electrode 7A and this reaches the innerside of the active region (L), the properties of the drive MISFETs (DR₁,DR₂) may be degraded.

This problem can be avoided if the end of the gate electrode 7A is movedfar away from the active region (L). However, although this method ispermissible in peripheral circuits, such as a logical circuit or a powersupply circuit where the density of components is low, it is notsuitable for a circuit where the component density must be increased, asin a memory array. On the other hand, when a rectangular gate pattern isformed by two etchings using two masks, the roundness of the fourcorners of the rectangle is small and the amount by which the end of thegate electrode 7A retreats inside the active region (L) is small, sothat deterioration of the properties of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) canbe suppressed. In this case, since the end of the gate electrode 7A canbe brought close to the active region (L), the gap between adjacentactive regions (L) can be reduced by a corresponding amount, and ahighly integrated memory chip and system chip can be produced.

Next, as shown in FIG. 15, a relatively low-concentration n⁻ typesemiconductor region 9 is formed, for example, by ion implantation ofphosphorus or arsenic in the p type well 4, and a relativelylow-concentration n⁻ type semiconductor region 10 is formed, forexample, by ion implantation of boron in the n type well 5. The n⁻ typesemiconductor region 9 is formed to give the source and drain of thedrive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂), as well as the n channel type MISFET of theperipheral circuit, a LDD (Lightly Doped Drain) construction, and the p⁻type semiconductor region 10 is formed to give the source of the pchannel type MISFET of the peripheral circuit a LDD construction.

Next, as shown in FIG. 16, a silicon oxide film 11 having a filmthickness of approx. 20 nm and a silicon nitride film 12 having a filmthickness of approx. 25 nm were deposited by CVD on the substrate 1;and, as shown in FIG. 17, side wall spacers 13 are respectively formedon the side walls of the gate electrodes 7A, 7B by anisotropic etchingof the silicon nitride film 12 and silicon oxide film 11. At this time,the upper surfaces of the gate electrodes 7A, 7B, and the upper surfacesof the n⁻ type semiconductor region 9 and p⁻ type semiconductor region10, are exposed by etching the silicon oxide film 8 covering thesurfaces of the gate electrodes 7A, 7B and the silicon oxide film (gateinsulating film 6) of the surface of the substrate 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 18, a relatively high-concentration n⁺ typesemiconductor region 14 is formed by ion implantation of phosphorus orarsenic in the p type well 4, and a relatively high-concentration p⁺type semiconductor region 15 is formed by ion implantation of boron inthe n type well 5. The n⁺ type semiconductor region 14 that is formed inthe p type well 4 of the memory array constitutes the source and drainof the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂), and the p⁺ type semiconductor region 15formed in the n type well 5 of the peripheral circuit region constitutesthe source and drain of the p channel type MISFET of the peripheralcircuit. Also, at this time, a relatively high-concentration n⁺ typesemiconductor region, which constitutes the source and drain of a nchannel type MISFET, is formed by ion implantation of phosphorus orarsenic in a p type well of the peripheral circuit region, not shown.

Next, as shown in FIG. 19, a cobalt (Co) film 17 having a film thicknessof approx. 8 nm is deposited by sputtering on the substrate 1. Then, asshown in FIG. 20, the substrate 1 is heat-treated to make the Co film17, the gate electrodes 7A, 7B and the substrate 1 react, and a Cosilicide layer 18, which is a silicide layer, is formed on the surfacesof the electrodes 7A, 7B, respectively, and the surfaces of the sourceand drain (n⁺ type semiconductor region 14, p⁺ type semiconductor region15) by removing the unreacted Co film 17 by etching. Due to this, the nchannel type drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) are formed in the memory array,and a p channel type MISFET (Qp) and n channel type MISFET (not shown)are formed in the peripheral circuit region.

Next, as shown in FIG. 21, a silicon nitride film 20 having a filmthickness of approx. 50 nm and silicon oxide film 21 having a filmthickness of approx. 400 nm, for example, are deposited by CVD asinsulating films on the substrate 1, the surface of the silicon oxidefilm 21 is flattened by chemical mechanical polishing, and a siliconoxide film 22 having a film thickness of approx. 90 nm is deposited asan insulating film, for example by CVD, above the silicon oxide film 21.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, a contact hole 24 is formed above one(source) of the source and drain of the n⁺ type semiconductor region 14of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂), and contact holes 25, 26 are formedabove the gate electrode 7B of the p channel type MISFET (Qp) of theperipheral circuit region and the p⁺ type semiconductor region (source,drain), by dry etching of the above-mentioned silicon oxide films 22, 21and silicon nitride film 20, using the photoresist film 23 as a mask.

Next, as shown in FIG. 24, a plug 27 is formed so as to be embedded inthe contact holes 24, 25, 26 by depositing a titanium (Ti) film andtitanium nitride (TiN) film, for example, by sputtering on the siliconoxide film 22, including the inside of the contact holes 24, 25, 26,depositing a TiN film and a tungsten (W) film as a metal film by CVD,and removing any unnecessary W film, TiN film and Ti film above thesilicon oxide film 22 by chemical mechanical polishing. The plug 27 mayalso be formed by a laminated film comprising a TiN film and W film,instead of the aforesaid TiN film, TiN film and W film.

Next, as shown in FIG. 25, the silicon nitride film 20 having a filmthickness of approx. 20 nm and the silicon oxide film 21 having a filmthickness of approx. 400 nm are deposited, for example, by CVD asinsulating films on the substrate 1, and interconnection grooves 31, 32,33 extending in a predetermined direction above the contact holes 24,25, 26 are formed by dry etching of the silicon oxide film 21 and thesilicon nitride film 20, using the photoresist film 30 as a mask.

The silicon nitride film 20 under the silicon oxide film 21 is used as astopper film during the etching of the silicon oxide film 21. That is,when the contact holes 24, 25, 26 are formed, the silicon oxide film 21is etched first, etching is stopped on the surface of the siliconnitride film 20 underneath, and then the silicon nitride film 20 isetched. Due to this, even if the interconnection groove 31 and itscontact hole 24 underneath are shifted due to a mismatch of thephotomask, the silicon oxide films 22, 21 of the lower layer of theinterconnection groove 31 are not etched excessively.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, reference voltage lines 34 (Vss) areformed inside the interconnection groove 31 that is formed in the memoryarray, and first layer interconnections 35, 36 are formed inside theinterconnection grooves 32, 33 that is formed in the peripheral circuitregion. The reference voltage lines 34 (Vss) and first-layerinterconnections 35, 36 are embedded in the interconnection grooves 31,32, 33, for example, by depositing a TiN film by sputtering on thesilicon oxide film 29, including the inside of the interconnectiongrooves 31, 32, 33, depositing a W film as a metal film by CVD, and thenremoving any unnecessary W film and TiN film above the silicon oxidefilm 29 by chemical mechanical polishing.

Hence, the interconnections 35, 36 and the plug 27, which electricallyconnect the source region of the n channel MISFET, p channel MSFET,drain region, and gate electrodes, which constitute the peripheralcircuit, comprise the same interconnection layer and plug layer as thereference voltage lines 34 (Vss) and plug 27, which constitute thefirst-layer interconnections in the memory cell-forming region. Due tothis, in the connections between the source region, drain region andgate electrode of the n channel MISFET and p channel MSFET forming theperipheral circuit, the current path length can be shortened and thecircuit operation of the semiconductor memory device can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 26, the reference voltage lines 34 (Vss) formed in thememory array are arranged in the boundary region of the memory celladjoining in the Y direction, and they extend mutually parallel in the Xdirection. The reference voltage lines 34 (Vss) are electricallyconnected to the source (n⁺ type semiconductor region 14) of the driveMISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) via the plug 27 in the contact hole 24. The source(n⁺ type semiconductor region 14) to which the reference voltage lines34 (Vss) are connected is a source common to two drive (DR₁, DR₁, orDR₂, DR₂) MISFETs adjoining in the Y direction. That is, the referencevoltage lines 34 (Vss) are shared by the drive (DR₁, DR₁, or DR₂, DR₂)MISFET of two memory cells adjoining in the Y direction, and a circuitreference voltage (Vss, for example, 0V) is supplied to the source (n⁺type semiconductor region 14) common to these drive (DR₁, DR₁, or DR₂,DR₂) MISFETs.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, a silicon nitride film 38 having afilm thickness of approx. 100 nm is deposited as an insulating film, forexample, by CVD, on the substrate 1, and contact holes 40 exposing theends of the gate electrodes 7A of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) and partof the drain (n⁺ type semiconductor region 14) are formed bysuccessively dry etching the silicon nitride film 38, silicon oxide film29, silicon nitride film 28, silicon oxide films 22, 21 and the siliconnitride film 20, using the photoresist film 39 as a mask.

As shown in FIG. 28, two of the contact holes 40 are formed in eachmemory cell. That is, one contact hole 40 is formed in the regionspanning the gate electrode 7A of the drive MISFET (DR₁) and the drain(n⁺ type semiconductor region 14) of the drive MISFET (DR₂), and theother contact hole 40 is formed in the region spanning the gateelectrode 7A of the drive MISFET (DR₂) and the drain (n⁺ typesemiconductor region 14) of the drive MISFET (DR₁).

Hence, as the contact hole 40 must expose the ends of the gate electrode7A and part of the adjoining drain (n⁺ type semiconductor region 14),they are formed over a larger surface area than the contact holes 24which connect the source (n⁺ type semiconductor region 14) and thereference voltage lines 34 (Vss). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 28, thedistance (d) between the two contact holes 40, 40 formed in the samememory cell becomes very short. As a result, the two contact holes 40,40 may be connected by interference of the light used for exposure ofthe photoresist film 39.

To counteract this, the two contact holes 40, 40 that are formed in thesame memory cell may be formed by two etching steps using two differentphotomasks. That is, firstly, as shown in FIG. 30, for example, onecontact hole 40 a is formed by etching, using the first photoresist filmas a mask, then, as shown in FIG. 31, another contact hole 40 b isformed by etching, using the second photoresist film as a mask. In thisway, the four corners of the contact holes 40 a, 40 b are rounded by thelight interference; and, since the four corners of the contact hole 40 bare also rounded by light interference, the distance (d) between thecontact holes 40 a and contact holes 40 b is effectively lengthened,which prevents them from interconnecting.

Next, as shown in FIG. 32, a plug 41 is formed inside the contact hole40. The plug 41 is formed os as to be embedded in the contact hole 40 bydepositing a titanium (Ti) film and a titanium nitride (TiN) film, forexample, by sputtering on the silicon oxide film 38, including theinside of the contact hole 40, depositing a TiN film and a tungsten (W)film as a metal film by CVD, and removing any unnecessary W film, TiNfilm and Ti film above the silicon oxide film 38 by chemical mechanicalpolishing. The plug 41 may also comprise, for example, a laminated filmcomprising a TIN film and W film, or a n or p type polycrystallinesilicon film doped with impurities. The plugs 41, 41 constitute across-coupled interconnection 41, which electrically connects the gateelectrode 7A of one of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂), and the drain (n⁺type semiconductor region 14) of the other of drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂).Also, by forming the plugs 41, 40 a, 40 b by a separate process fromthat used to form the reference voltage lines 34 (Vss), 31 and plugs 27,24, the gap between them can be reduced and the memory cell size can bereduced. In other words, the plugs 41, 40 a, 40 b are formed by adifferent plug layer from the plugs 27, 24, and from a different layerfrom the reference voltage lines 34 (Vss), 31, so that the memory cellsize can be reduced.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 33 and 34, a groove 45, which exposes thesurface of the plug 41 at its base, is formed by depositing a siliconoxide film 42 having a film thickness of approx. 150 nm as an insulatingfilm, for example, by CVD, on the substrate 1, and dry etching thesilicon oxide film 42, using the photoresist film 44 as a mask.

As shown in FIG. 33, two of the grooves 45 are formed in each memorycell. One groove 45 has a flat rectangular pattern extending in the Ydirection above one contact hole 40, and the other groove 45 has a flatrectangular pattern extending in the Y direction above the contact hole40.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 35 and 36, a connecting conductive layer 46 isformed inside the groove 45. The connecting conductive layer 46comprises an oxidation-resistant conductive film to be described later.The connecting conductive layer 46 is embedded in the groove 45 bydepositing a W silicide (WSi₂) film, for example, by sputtering on thesilicon oxide film 42, including the inside of the groove 45, andremoving any unnecessary W silicide film above the silicon oxide film 42by chemical mechanical polishing. The connecting conductive layer 46 mayalso comprise, for example, a conductive film wherein a W silicide filmis laminated on a metal film, such as a W film. It may also comprise aconductive film wherein a W film is laminated on a WN film. In thiscase, the oxidation resistance of the surface of the connectingconductive layer 46 decreases compared to the case where a W silicidefilm is used, but the electrical resistance can be made small.

One of the above-mentioned connecting conductive layers 46, 46, of whichtwo are formed in each memory cell, is electrically connected to thegate electrode 7A of the drive MISFET (DR₁) and the drain (n⁺ typesemiconductor region 14) of the drive MISFET (DR₂) via the plug 41, andthe other is electrically connected to the gate electrode 7A of thedrive MISFET (DR₂) and the drain (n⁺ type semiconductor region 14) ofthe drive MISFET (DR₁) via the plug 41.

The connecting conductive layer 46 is formed to electrically connect thedrain (n⁺ type semiconductor region 14) of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂),and the source or drain of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) formed in alater step. That is, as seen in plan view, the connecting conductivelayer 46 overlaps with the plug 41, and, in the Y direction, it isarranged to extend above the gate electrode 7A of the other driveMISFET.

The drain (n⁺ type semiconductor region 14) of the drive MISFETs (DR₁,DR₂) and the source or drain of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) can alsobe connected without the connecting conductive layer 46. That is, thesource or drain of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) may be directlyformed on the plug 41, which is electrically connected to the drain (n⁺type semiconductor region 14) of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂). In thiscase, a step to prevent formation of an insulating oxide on the surfaceof the plug 41 in the thermal oxidation step of forming the gateinsulating film of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), which will bedescribed later, is necessary.

When the above-mentioned connecting conductive layer 46 is formedbetween the plug 41 and vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), the surface of theplug 41 does not oxidize in the thermal oxidation step of forming thegate insulating film of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂). However, inthis case, the connecting conductive layer 46 must be formed from aconductive material having good oxidation control properties, such as Wsilicide (WSi₂), so that the connecting conductive layer 46 does notabnormally oxidize in the aforesaid thermal oxidation step. Examples ofconductive materials having good oxidation control properties are Wsilicide (WSi₂) and polycrystalline silicon.

Also, since W silicide (WSi₂) has a low adhesion to silicon oxide, ifthe connecting conductive layer 46 comprises a W silicide (WSi₂) film,it may peel away at the interface with the silicon oxide film 42 in thechemical mechanical polishing step. To counteract this, an adhesivefilm, such a TiN film, which has good adhesion to silicon oxide, may beprovided, for example, under the W silicide (WSi₂) layer, or a siliconnitride film, which is an insulating film with good adhesion to Wsilicide (WSi₂), may be provided above the silicon oxide film 42.

Next, as shown in FIG. 37, a p type silicon film 47 p having a filmthickness of approx. 100 nm, a silicon film 48 i having a film thicknessof approx. 400 nm and a p type silicon film 47 p having a film thicknessof approx. 200 nm, are formed on the silicon oxide film 42 and theconnecting conductive layer 46. In order to form these three siliconfilms (47 p, 48 i, 49 p), an amorphous silicon film that is doped withboron, a non-doped amorphous silicon film and an amorphous silicon filmthat is doped with boron are successively deposited by CVD, and theseamorphous silicon films are then continuously crystallized by heattreatment. The amorphous silicon films may be crystallized using thethermal oxidation for forming the gate insulating film as will bementioned later.

Alternatively, these three silicon films (47 p, 48 i, 49 p) may also beformed by successively depositing an amorphous silicon film doped withboron and an amorphous non-doped silicon film by CVD, crystallizingthese amorphous silicon films by heat treatment, performing ionimplantation (channel doping) of n type or p type impurities in thenon-doped amorphous silicon film, depositing an amorphous silicon filmdoped with boron by CVD, and crystallizing this amorphous silicon filmby heat treatment.

Due to this, when the non-doped amorphous silicon film is crystallized,the crystals can be enlarged, and the properties of the vertical MISFETs(SV₁, SV₂) can be improved. Also, by adjusting the profile of thechannel impurities in the perpendicular direction relative to theprincipal surface (plane) of the substrate 1, the intermediatesemiconductor layer 48, which is the substrate of the vertical MISFET,can be perfectly depleted, and the OFF leakage current (I_(OFF) (P)) canbe reduced compared with the ON current (I_(ON) (P)). When the channelis doped, a silicon oxide film may be formed on the non-doped amorphoussilicon film as a through insulating film, and impurities introducedinto the intermediate semiconductor layer 48 by ion implantation(channel doping) through the through insulating film. In this case, thethrough insulating film is removed after channel doping, and theamorphous silicon film 49 p with doped boron is then deposited by CVD.

Next, as shown in FIG. 38, a silicon nitride film 50 having a filmthickness of approx. 400 nm is deposited as an insulating film by CVD onthe p type silicon film 47 p. This silicon nitride film 50 is used as amask when the three silicon films (47 p, 48 i, 49 p) are etched. Assince silicon nitride has a large etching selectivity relative tosilicon compared with the photoresist, the silicon films (47 p, 48 i, 49p) can be patterned with higher precision, compared to etching using thephotoresist film as a mask.

Next, as shown in FIG. 39, a photoresist film 51 is formed above thesilicon nitride film 50, and, as shown in FIG. 40, this photoresist film51 is then slimmed. Specifically, the photoresist film 51 is partiallyashed using oxygen radicals produced by the thermal decomposition ofozone, thereby making the pattern width of the photoresist film 51 finerthan the wavelength of the exposure light. Herein, the pattern width ofthe photoresist film 51 is made as fine as about 0.1 μm by thisslimming.

Next, as shown in FIG. 41, the silicon nitride film 50 is dry etchedusing this fine photoresist film 51 as a mask. In this way, a fineetching mask comprising the silicon nitride film 50, wherein the patternwidth in the X direction has been reduced to about 0.1 μm, is obtained.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 42 and 43, dry etching of the silicon films (47p, 48 i, 49 p) is performed, using the silicon nitride film 50 as amask. Due to this, a laminate (P) having a square pole shape comprisingthe lower semiconductor layer 47 comprising a p type silicon film 47 p,the intermediate semiconductor layer 48 comprising the silicon film 48 iand the upper semiconductor layer 47 comprising a p type silicon film 49p is formed on the connecting conductive layer 46. The laminate (P), asseen in plan view, is formed so that the drain (n⁺ type semiconductorregion 14) of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂), the lower semiconductorlayer 47, the intermediate semiconductor layer 48 and the uppersemiconductor layer 49, overlap.

The lower semiconductor layer 47 of the laminate (P) forms the sourceand the upper semiconductor layer 49 forms the drain of the verticalMISFETs (SV₁, SV₂). The intermediate semiconductor layer 48, which issituated between the lower semiconductor layer 47 and the uppersemiconductor layer 49, effectively forms the substrate of the verticalMISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), and the side walls constitute the channel region.

As the laminate (P) is formed using the silicon nitride film 50 forwhich the pattern width in the X direction is as fine as 0.1 μm as anetching mask, the intermediate semiconductor layer 48 which forms thesubstrate of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), also has dimensions in theX direction of only about 0.1 μm. Due to this, the vertical MISFETs(SV₁, SV₂), which use the intermediate semiconductor layer 48 as asubstrate, is a perfect depletion type.

That is, since the gate electrode 54 is formed so that the side walls ofthe intermediate semiconductor layer 48 having a square pole shape,which is the substrate (channel) of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) aresurrounded, the fine intermediate semiconductor layer 48 is perfectlydepleted, and therefore perfect depletion type vertical MISFETs (SV₁,SV₂) are formed. Due to this, the OFF leakage current (I_(OFF) (P)) canbe reduced compared with the ON current (I_(ON) (P)) of the verticalMISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), and the channel width can be enlarged. As since aperfect depletion type MISFET has little fluctuation of properties dueto impurities in the substrate, a variation of the properties of thevertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) resulting from the diffusion of impuritiesin the p type polycrystalline silicon film forming the lowersemiconductor layer 47 and upper semiconductor layer 49 in theintermediate semiconductor layer 48 can be suppressed.

To prevent impurities in the p type polycrystalline silicon film formingthe lower semiconductor layer 47 and upper semiconductor layer 49 fromdiffusing in the middle semiconductor layer 48, one layer or plurallayers of a tunnel insulating film comprising a silicon nitride film orthe like may be provided near the interface of the upper semiconductorlayer 49 and intermediate semiconductor layer 48, near the interface ofthe lower semiconductor layer 47 and intermediate semiconductor layer48, and in part of the intermediate semiconductor layer 48. That is, byproviding a thin tunnel insulating film in which the loss of draincurrent (IdS) of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) is too small to bevisible, the spreading of impurities can be prevented and theperformance of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) can be improved.

Next, as shown in FIG. 44, the gate insulating film 53 having a filmthickness of approx. 10 nm, comprising silicon oxide, is formed on theside wall surface of the laminate (P) (lower semiconductor layer 47,intermediate semiconductor layer 48 and upper semiconductor layer 49) bythermally oxidizing the substrate 1. Due to this oxidation, an oxidationlayer mainly comprising an oxide of W silicide is formed in the surfaceof the connecting conductive layer 46 that is exposed on the perimeterof the base of the laminate (P). The gate insulating film 53 is formedby low-temperature thermal oxidation (for example, wet oxidation) at800° C. or less, but the invention is not limited thereto and maycomprise a silicon oxide film deposited for example by CVD. It may alsocomprise a high dielectric film deposited by CVD, such as hafnium oxide(HfO₂) or tantalum oxide (Ta₂0₅). Hence, by forming the gate insulatingfilm 53 by a low-temperature process, a scattering of the properties,such as the threshold value (Vth) of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂),due to heat treatment can be reduced.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 45 and 46, gate electrodes 54 s of the verticalMISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) are formed on the side walls of the laminate (P). Toform the gate electrodes 54, a n type polycrystalline silicon film dopedwith phosphorus is deposited by CVD on the substrate 1 and remains onthe side walls of the laminate (P) by performing anisotropic etching ofthis n type polycrystalline silicon film.

That is, the gate electrode 54 is formed in the shape of a side wallspacer, which self-aligns with the laminate (P) via the gate insulatingfilm 53, and it is formed so that the side wall perimeter of thelaminate (P) (intermediate semiconductor layer 48) is surrounded. Due tothis, the manufacturing steps can be reduced and the memory cell sizecan be slimmed. The gate electrode 54 comprises a p type polycrystallinesilicon film doped by boron.

Next, as shown in FIG. 47, a silicon oxide film 55 is deposited as aninsulating film by CVD on the substrate 1 containing the gate electrode54. The silicon oxide film 55 is deposited to a larger film thicknessthan the pitch of the laminate (P).

Next, as shown in FIGS. 48 and 49, a groove 56, which opens onto theperimeter of the laminate (P), is formed by dry etching of the siliconoxide film 55, using a photoresist film (not shown) as a mask. As shownin FIG. 49, the groove 56 is formed between the mutually adjoiningreference voltage lines 34 (Vss), 34 (Vss) and extends in a belt shapein the X direction. The line width of the groove 56 in the Y directionis formed to be larger than the width of the side wall spacer-shapedgate electrode 54 in the Y direction, and it is formed so as to openonto the whole perimeter of the side wall spacer-shaped gate electrode54.

The depth of the groove 56 is the depth at which the gate electrode 54formed on the side walls of the laminate (P) is exposed to some extent.The word line (WL), which is electrically connected to each gateelectrode 54 of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) arranged in the Xdirection is formed inside the groove 56, as will be mentioned later.

Next, as shown in FIG. 50, a polycrystalline silicon film 57 of the sameconductivity type as the gate electrode 54 is formed inside the groove56. Specifically, a n type (or p type) polycrystalline silicon film 57is deposited by CVD on the silicon oxide film 55 including the inside ofthe groove 56, and the polycrystalline silicon film 57 on the siliconoxide film 55 is removed by chemical mechanical polishing or etch back.The polycrystalline silicon film 57 embedded inside the groove 56 is aconductive film which forms the word line (WL).

Thus, the conductive film 57 which forms the word line (WL) is incontact with the side wall spacer-shaped gate electrode 54 over itswhole perimeter. Due to this, the resistance value of the word line (WL)can be reduced, and the contact resistance with the gate electrode 54can be reduced.

Next, as shown in FIG. 51, the upper surfaces of the polycrystallinesilicon film 57 and the gate electrode 54 are retracted below the uppersurface of the silicon oxide film 55 by performing etch back of thepolycrystalline silicon film 57 and the gate electrode 54 in the groove56.

Next, as shown in FIG. 52, after forming a side wall spacer 58comprising an insulating film on the side walls of the silicon oxidefilm 55 that is situated above the upper surface of the polycrystallinesilicon film 57 and the laminate (P), a Co film 59 having a filmthickness of approx. 8 nm is deposited, for example, by sputtering onthe substrate 1, including the surface of the polycrystalline siliconfilm 57. To form the side wall spacer 58, a silicon oxide film isdeposited by CVD on the substrate 1, and this silicon oxide film is thenanisotropically etched.

Next, as shown in FIG. 53, a Co silicide layer 60 is formed on thesurfaces of the polycrystalline silicon film 57 and gate electrode 54 byheat-treating the substrate 1 to make the Co film 59 and thepolycrystalline silicon film (polycrystalline silicon film 57 and gateelectrode 54) react, and the unreacted Co film 59 is removed by etching.The Co silicide layer 60 is formed to reduce the contact resistance withthe upper layer metal interconnection of the word line (WL).

Due to these steps, the word line (WL) is formed by the polycrystallinesilicon film 57 inside the groove 56. As shown in FIG. 54, the word line(WL) is formed between the mutually adjoining reference voltage lines 34(Vss), 34 (Vss) and extends in a belt shape in the X direction. Further,due to these steps, a p channel type vertical MISFET (SV₁) is formedabove the n channel type drive MISFET (DR₁), and a p channel typevertical MISFET (SV₂) is likewise formed above the n channel type driveMISFET (DR₂). This effectively completes a memory cell comprising twodrive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) and two vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂).

Next, as shown in FIG. 55, the silicon oxide film 61 is embedded, forexample, as an insulating film inside the groove 56 in which the wordline (WL) was formed. Specifically, the silicon oxide film 61 isdeposited by CVD on the silicon oxide film 55, including the inside ofthe groove 56, and the unnecessary silicon oxide film 61 outside thegroove 56 is then removed by chemical mechanical polishing. The siliconoxide film 61 is polished until the surface of the silicon nitride film50, which is formed in the topmost part of the laminate (P), is exposed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 56, throughholes 62, 63 are formed in the firstlayer interconnections 35, 36 in the peripheral circuit region, andplugs 64 are formed inside the throughholes 62, 63. To form the plugs64, a silicon oxide film 55 is formed in the peripheral circuit regionusing a photoresist film (not shown) as a mask, and the throughholes 62,63 are formed above the first layer interconnections 35, 36 by dryetching the silicon oxide film 42 and silicon nitride film 38underneath. Next, a TiN film is deposited by sputtering on the siliconoxide film 55, including the inside of the throughholes 62, 63, a Wfilm, which is a metal film, is deposited by CVD, and the plugs 64embedded in the throughholes 62, 63 are formed by removing unnecessary Wfilm and TIN film outside the throughholes 62, 63 by chemical mechanicalpolishing. The plugs 64 may comprise a laminate comprising a Ti film, ora TiN film and a W film.

Next, as shown in FIG. 57, the surface of the upper semiconductor layer49 is exposed by removing the silicon nitride film 50 formed in thetopmost part of the laminate (P), and a plug 65 is formed there. To formthe plug 65, the surface of the upper semiconductor layer 49 is firstexposed by removing the silicon nitride film 50 by wet etching using hotphosphoric acid or the like. Next, a TiN film is deposited by sputteringon the silicon oxide films 55, 61 including the inside of the grooveproduced by removal of the silicon nitride film 50, a W film isdeposited by CVD, and the plug 65 embedded in the groove produced byremoving the silicon nitride film 50 is formed by removing unnecessaryTiN film and W film from the outside of the groove by chemicalmechanical polishing. The plug 65 may comprise a laminate filmcomprising a Ti film, or a TiN film and a W film. The plug 65, which isformed above the upper semiconductor layer 49, is formed in order toelectrically connect the complementary data lines (BLT, BLB) and thesemiconductor layer 49, which are formed by the following steps.

As shown in FIG. 58, prior to the step of forming the plug 65 above theupper semiconductor layer 49, a Co silicide layer 73 may be formed onthe surface of the upper semiconductor layer 49 and the plug 65 formedon the Co silicide layer 73. To form the Co silicide layer 73, thesurface of the upper semiconductor layer 49 is first exposed by removingthe silicon nitride film 50, a Co film is deposited by sputtering on thesubstrate 1 including the surface of the upper semiconductor layer 49,the substrate 1 is heat-treated to cause the Co film and uppersemiconductor layer 49 comprising the polycrystalline silicon film toreact, and the unreacted Co film is removed by etching. The Co silicidelayer 73 is formed to reduce contact resistance between thecomplementary data lines (BLT, BLB) and the semiconductor layer 49.

Next, as shown in FIG. 59, a silicon carbide film 66 having a filmthickness of approx. 25 nm and a silicon oxide film 67 having a filmthickness of approx. 300 nm are deposited by CVD on the substrate 1, aninterconnection groove 68 is formed above the upper semiconductor layer49 formed in the memory array by dry etching of the silicon oxide film67 and the silicon carbide film 66, using a photoresist film (not shown)as a mask, and interconnection grooves 69, 70 are formed above the plug64 formed in the peripheral circuit region.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 60, 61, the complementary data lines (BLT, BLB)are formed inside the interconnection groove 68, and the second-layerinterconnections 71, 72 of the peripheral circuit are formed inside theinterconnection grooves 69, 70. The complementary data lines (BLT, BLB)and the second-layer interconnections 71, 72 are formed so as to beembedded in the interconnection grooves 68, 69, 70 by depositing atantalum nitride (TaN) film by sputtering on the silicon oxide film 67,including the inside of the interconnection grooves 68, 69, 70,depositing a Cu film, which is a metal film, by sputtering orelectroplating, and removing unnecessary Cu film and TaN film outsidethe grooves by chemical mechanical polishing. As shown in FIG. 60, one(BLT) of the complementary data lines (BLT, BLB) is formed above thevertical MISFFT (SV₁) arranged in the Y direction, and the other (BLB)is formed above the vertical MISFET (SV₂) arranged in the Y direction.

These steps complete the formation of the SRAM of this embodiment, asshown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. Subsequently, upper interconnections,comprising metal films, are formed above the complementary data lines(BLT, BLB) and second-layer interconnections 71, 72 via an interlayerinsulating film, but these are not shown.

Embodiment 2

FIG. 62 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing the memory cell of aSRAM according to this embodiment. The SRAM of this embodiment has acomposition wherein capacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂) are formed at apair of charge storage nodes (A, B) of the memory cell (MC) ofEmbodiment 1, in order to suppress software errors of the memory celldue to a rays.

Specifically, one of the electrodes of each of the capacitative elements(CS₁, CS₂) is electrically connected to the drain region of the driveMISFETs (DR₁, DR₂), which constitutes a charge storage node (A, B). Thereference potential (Vss) is applied to the other electrode of thecapacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂). Between the electrodes of thecapacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂), a capacitance insulating film having adielectric constant higher than silicon oxide, such as silicon nitride,is formed.

The aforesaid capacitative element (CS₁, CS₂), for example, can beformed by the following methods. First, as shown in FIG. 63, the upperinsulating film of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) is etched to form acontact hole 24 above the n⁺ type semiconductor region 14 (source), anda plug 27 is embedded inside the contact hole 24. Up to this point, thesteps are identical to the steps shown in FIG. 4-FIG. 24.

Next, as shown in FIG. 64, a contact hole 19 is formed above each of thegate electrodes 7A of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) by etching thesilicon oxide films 22, 21 and the silicon nitride film 20.

Next, as shown in FIG. 65, a Ti film 80, for example, is formed as aconductive film on the side walls of the contact hole 19, a capacitanceinsulating film 81 comprising silicon nitride or the like is formed onthe side walls and base of the contact hole 19, and a W film 82 isembedded, for example, as a metal film. By forming the Ti film 80 on theside walls of the contact hole 19, the surface area of one electrode ofthe capacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂), which is formed by the uppersurface of the gate electrode 7A and the T1 film 80, can be increased.The T1 film 80 may be replaced by a conductive film, such as a TiN filmor a polycrystalline silicon film.

Next, as shown in FIG. 66, an interconnection groove 31 is formed in thesilicon oxide film 29 and the silicon nitride film 28 above the contacthole 19 according to the steps shown in FIG. 25-27 of the aforesaidEmbodiment 1, and the reference voltage line 34 (Vss) is then formed inthe interconnection groove 31. At this time, part of the interconnectiongroove 31 extends above the contact hole 19, and a capacitative element(CS₁, CS₂) is formed by electrically connecting the W film 82 in thecontact hole 19 and the reference voltage line 34 (Vss). The remainingsteps are identical to those of Embodiment 1.

That is, one of the electrodes of each of the capacitative elements(CS₁, CS₂) is electrically connected to the drain region of the driveMISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) via the conductive film 80 and the gate electrodes 7Aof the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂). The other electrode of the capacitativeelements (CS₁, CS₂) is electrically connected to the reference voltageline 34 (Vss) via the conductive film 82 embedded inside the contacthole 19.

Since one electrode of the capacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂) is formed bythe conductive film 80, which is formed on the side walls and base ofthe contact hole 19, and the other electrode is formed by the conductivefilm 82, which is embedded inside the contact hole 19, the surface areaof the side walls and base of the contact hole 19 can be used as acapacitative element.

Hence, by forming the capacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂) using the sidewalls and base of the contact hole 19, the surface area of theelectrodes of the capacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂) can be enlarged, andthe capacitance of the capacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂) can beincreased.

As shown in FIG. 67, the capacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂) can also bemanufactured by forming a groove 83 in the substrate below the n⁺ typesemiconductor region 14 (source), and forming a capacitance insulatingfilm 81 of silicon nitride with a conductive film 85 of polycrystallinesilicon therein. In this case, an embedding well 86 for a power supplyis formed in the substrate 1 around the groove 83, and the referencevoltage (Vss) is supplied to the capacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂) viathis embedding well 86.

The impurity concentration of the embedding well 86 is higher than theimpurity concentration of the well 4, and its resistance value isreduced. The embedding well 86, for example, is formed in the wholelower part of the well 4, that is formed in the memory cell formingregion. However, the embedding well 86 may be formed in the whole lowerpart of the well 4, including the peripheral circuit region. If this isdone, the stability of the potential of the well 4 can be improved, andthe properties of the semiconductor memory device can be improved.

One of the electrodes of each of the capacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂)comprises a conductive film 85 embedded in the groove 83 via thecapacitance insulating film 81, and it is electrically connected withthe drain region of the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) via a plug 41. Theother electrode of the capacitative elements (CS₁, CS₂) comprises theembedding well 86 formed so as to surround the base and side wallperimeter of the groove 83. Since the base and side wall perimeter ofthe groove 83 can be used as the capacitative element (CS₁, CS₂), thesurface area of the electrode of a capacitative element (CS₁, CS₂) canbe enlarged, and the capacitance of the capacitative element (CS₁, CS₂)can be increased.

Embodiment 3

As described in connection with Embodiment 1, when the gate electrode 7Aof the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) is formed by patterning the gateelectrode material (polycrystalline silicon film) by two etchings usingtwo different masks, deformation of the end of the gate electrode 7A dueto the interference of exposure light can be suppressed.

Of the SRAM peripheral circuits, in these circuits containing MISFETshaving a short gate length and circuits wherein MISFETs are arranged athigh density, when the gate electrodes of the MISFETs in these circuitsare formed, it is desirable to pattern the gate electrode material(polycrystalline silicon film) by two etchings using two differentmasks. Hereafter, the method of forming the gate electrodes of a MISFETforming the peripheral circuits will be described.

As shown in FIG. 68, in addition to memory arrays wherein a large numberof memory cells (MC) are arranged in the form of a matrix, a SRAM alsowill include peripheral circuits wherein unit circuits referred to ascells are arranged in the form of a matrix. These cells comprise basicgates, such as AND and OR, and latch circuits due to positive feedback,as shown in FIG. 69.

The method of forming channel type MISFETQn and p channel type MISFETforming the above-mentioned latch circuits will now be described withreference to FIG. 70-FIG. 73. FIG. 70 is a plan view of wells (p typewell 4 and n type well 5) formed in one cell region, and the siliconoxide film 8 patterned in a belt shape in the cell pitch direction(up-and-down direction of the diagram). Gate electrode materials (n typepolycrystalline silicon film 7 n and p type polycrystalline silicon film7 p), not shown, are formed under this silicon oxide film 8.

The step of patterning the silicon oxide film 8 involves dry etching ofthe silicon oxide film 8, using the first photoresist film 16 a shown inFIGS. 11, 12 of Embodiment 1 as a mask. That is, the gate electrodematerials (n type polycrystalline silicon film 7 n, p typepolycrystalline silicon film 7 p) are formed on the substrate 1, thesilicon oxide film 8 is deposited thereon, the silicon oxide film 8 ofthe memory array is dry etched using the first photoresist film 16 a asa mask, and the silicon oxide film 8 of the peripheral circuit region isalso dry etched. Due to this, the silicon oxide film 8, having thebelt-shaped flat pattern shown in FIG. 11, is formed in the memoryarray, and the silicon oxide film 8, having the belt-shaped flat patternshown in FIG. 70, is formed in the peripheral circuit region.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the silicon oxide film 8 of thememory array is patterned so that it has the same flat shape(rectangular) as the gate electrode, using the second photoresist film16 b as a mask. At this time, the silicon oxide film 8 of the peripheralcircuit is patterned so that it has the same flat shape (rectangular) asthe gate electrode using the aforesaid second photoresist film 16 b as amask.

Subsequently, the gate electrode materials (n type polycrystallinesilicon film 7 n, p type polycrystalline silicon film 7 p) are dryetched using the aforesaid silicon oxide film 8 patterned in arectangular shape as a mask. Due to this, the gate electrode 7A of thedrive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) is formed in the memory array (FIG. 9), and thegate electrode 7A of the n channel type MISFETQn and gate electrode 7Bof the p channel type MISFET are formed in the peripheral circuit region(FIG. 71).

Thus, when the gate electrode 7A of the n channel type MISFETQn and gateelectrode 7B of the p channel type MISFET are formed by two etchingsusing two masks, as the roundness of the four corners of the gateelectrode 7A (and gate electrode 7B) becomes small, as shown in FIG. 72(a), the amount by which the end retreats inside the active region (L)becomes small.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 73, the latch circuit comprising the twon channel type MISFETQn and two p channel type MISFETQp is completed byforming the interconnections 73, 74 and through holes 75.

According to the above-described method of forming the gate electrodes7A, 7B, the gap between the gate electrodes 7A, 7B in the pitchdirection of the cell, which is the extension direction of the gateelectrodes 7A, 7B, can be reduced, so that four MISFETs (two n channeltype MISFETQn and two p channel type MISFETQp) can be arranged in oneline in the pitch direction of the cell.

On the other hand, when the gate electrode 7A of the n channel typeMISFETQn and gate electrode 7B of the p channel type MISFET are formedby one etching, as shown in FIG. 72( b), the roundness of the fourcorners of the gate electrode 7A (and gate electrode 7B) becomes large.Therefore, in this case, if the ends of the gate electrodes 7A, 7B arenot far removed from the active region (L), the roundness of the ends ofthe gate electrodes 7A, 7B will reach the inner side of the activeregion (L) and will degrade the properties of the n channel typeMISFETQn and p channel type MISFET.

However, if the ends of the gate electrodes 7A, 7B are far removed fromthe active region (L), the gap between the gate electrodes 7A, 7B in thepitch direction of the cell, which is the extension direction of thegate electrodes 7A, 7B, becomes large, so that it is impossible toarrange four MISFETs (two n channel type MISFETQn and two p channel typeMISFETQp) in one line in the pitch direction of the cell. That is, inthis case, as shown in FIG. 74, the four MISFETs (two n channel typeMISFETQn and two p channel type MISFETQp) must be arranged in two lines.As a result, the width of the cell becomes large, and as the surfacearea of one cell increases, high integration of the peripheral circuitcannot be achieved.

Hence, since the gate electrodes 7A, 7B of the n channel type MISFETQnand p channel type MISFET, which form the peripheral circuit, are formedby two etchings using two masks, high integration of the peripheralcircuit of the SRAM can be achieved.

In one part of the peripheral circuit of the SRAM, there is also acircuit, e.g. a power circuit, wherein MISFETs having a relatively longgate length are arranged at a relatively low density. In the MISFET insuch a circuit, there is no problem if the ends of the gate electrodesare far removed from the active region (L), so that the gate electrodescan be formed by one etching. In other words, of the aforesaid twoetching steps using two masks, the gate electrodes can be formed by oneof them.

Embodiment 4

The gate electrode 54 and word line (WL) of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁,SV₂) can also be formed by the following methods.

First, as shown in FIG. 75, the drive MISFETs (DR₁, DR₂) are formed byan identical method to that of Embodiment 1, the laminate (P) comprisingthe lower semiconductor layer 47, intermediate semiconductor layer 48and upper semiconductor layer 49 is formed above the drive MISFETs (DR₁,DR₂), and the gate insulating film 53 comprising silicon oxide is formedon the side wall surface of the laminate (P). The steps thus fardescribed are identical to the steps shown in FIG. 4-FIG. 44 ofEmbodiment 1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 76, a polycrystalline silicon film 54 a isdeposited by CVD on the substrate 1. The polycrystalline silicon film 54a is of n conductivity type as, since it is doped with phosphorus duringfilm formation. The film thickness of the polycrystalline silicon film54 a is the film thickness for which the polycrystalline silicon film 54a formed on the side walls of two mutually adjoining laminates (P) inthe extension direction (the direction of the line B-B′ in the figure)of the word line (WL) is in contact, i.e., ½ or more of the gap betweenthese two laminates (P), and it is the film thickness for which thepolycrystalline silicon film 54 a, which is formed on the side walls ofthe two mutually adjoining laminates (P) in the direction (the directionof the line A-A′ in the figure) perpendicular to the extension directionof the word line (WL), is not in contact. Due to this, thepolycrystalline silicon film 54 a is obtained, which covers the wholeside wall surface of the laminate (P) and extends in a belt shape in theextension direction of the word line (WL). Regarding the impuritiesdoped in the polycrystalline silicon film 54 a, phosphorus may bereplaced by boron.

Next, as shown in FIG. 77, by etching the polycrystalline silicon film54 a so that it retreats underneath, the gate electrodes 54 of thevertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), which are formed together with the wordline (WL), are obtained.

According to the above-mentioned method, the number of steps involved informing the gate electrodes 54 and word line (WL) of the verticalMISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) can be considerably reduced compared with the methodof Embodiment 1.

The gate electrodes 54, which are formed together with the word line(WL), may also comprise two layers of polycrystalline silicon films. Inthis case, first, as shown in FIG. 78, an amorphous silicon film 54 b isthinly deposited by CVD on the substrate 1, then, as shown in FIG. 79,the polycrystalline silicon film 54 a is deposited by CVD above theamorphous silicon film 54 b. Next, the substrate 1 is heat-treated, andthe amorphous silicon film 54 b is polycrystallized by using thepolycrystalline silicon film 54 a as a seed crystal.

When the circuit is formed by laminating components, in order to avoiddeterioration of the properties of the lower layer components, theprocess which forms the upper components must be performed as at low atemperature as possible. Therefore, if the silicon gate electrode of theupper components is deposited in the amorphous state, the annealingtemperature and time for crystallization must be reduced as much aspossible. However, if the annealing temperature is lowered and the timeis shortened, there may occur, as a side effect, the problem that thesilicon does not properly crystallize. That is, a trade-off between lowtemperature and crystallization must be resolved.

If it is deposited in the polycrystalline state beforehand, sincecrystallization annealing is unnecessary, the dilemma is solved.However, since it is a polycrystal, a new problem arises in thatreagents may permeate via the crystal interfaces. In particular, in athin film, there is a considerable risk that the cleaning fluid of thenext step may permeate to the gate oxide under the polycrystalline filmand cause fatal damage to the components. Here, a trade-off between alower temperature and component damage must be faced.

These dilemmas cannot be resolved by a monolayer film. However, if thereis a two-layer deposition of an amorphous film and a polycrystallinefilm, these dilemmas are resolved. The amorphous film preventspermeation of fluid to the components, and the second layer ofpolycrystalline film serves to seed the crystallization of the amorphoussilicon of the first layer, so that sufficient crystallization can takeplace with little thermal load. Since the polycrystalline film serves asa seed crystal to polycrystallize the amorphous film, if a cross-sectionis observed with a transmission electron microscope, it will be observedthat the crystal orientation of the crystals at the interface of thefilm laminate is continuous.

Embodiment 5

A SRAM, wherein a memory cell is formed from two drive MISFETs (DR₁,DR₂) and two vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), has a construction wherein, atthe storage node on the H level side, a charge is retained using theleakage current when the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂) are OFF. Therefore,when applying the reference voltage (Vss) of 0V to the data line andwriting at the L level (0V), a disturbance may easily occur whereincharge leaks from the storage node of the H level side of thenon-selected memory cell to the data line.

To counteract this, in this embodiment, when channel impurities are ionimplanted to the intermediate semiconductor layer 48 forming thesubstrate of the vertical MISFETs (SV₁, SV₂), as shown in FIG. 80, thedepth where the maximum peak of the impurity concentration occurs isshifted to a point lower than the center of the intermediatesemiconductor layer 48.

When the L level (0V) is written in the memory cell, as the potential onthe data line side falls to 0V, the upper semiconductor layer 49, whichis the semiconductor layer on the data line side, becomes the drain, andthe lower semiconductor layer 47 becomes the source. In general, sincethe threshold voltage of the MISFET is determined by the impurityconcentration near the source, if the depth where the maximum peak ofimpurity concentration occurs is shifted to a level below the center ofthe intermediate semiconductor layer 48, the threshold voltage during awrite operation increases, and charge leakage from the storage node tothe data line decreases. Due to this, the disturbance wherein chargeleaks from the storage node to the data line of the non-selected memorycell can be effectively suppressed.

On the other hand, during storage and retention, as the potential of thedata line is increased and supplied from the data line to the storagenode on the H level side, the upper semiconductor layer 49, which is thesemiconductor layer on the data line side, becomes the source, and thelower semiconductor layer 47 becomes the drain.

Therefore, if the depth where the maximum peak of impurity concentrationoccurs is shifted to a level below the center of the intermediatesemiconductor layer 48, since the impurity concentration near the source(upper semiconductor layer 49) is low, the threshold voltage is low, andsufficient leakage current can flow from the data line to the storagenode.

Hence, according to this embodiment, since the threshold voltage of thenon-selected memory cell can be increased for a write operation, and thethreshold voltage can be decreased for storage and retention, it is easyto achieve the dual objective of reducing fluctuation of the nodepotential due to a disturbance and achieving stable memory retention, sothat there is a sufficient tolerance to disturbance defects, i.e., astable operation can be guaranteed.

Due to this, it is possible to design a shorter latency time forrestoring the node potential, which fell due to the disturbance, so highspeed operation of the SRAM can be achieved.

The invention, as conceived by the inventors, has been described basedon various embodiments, but it will be understood that variousmodifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe invention as defined by the appended claims.

For example, the features of the manufacturing method are not limited tothe aforesaid semiconductor memory device, and the invention may, ofcourse, be interpreted as applying to a method of forming a verticalMISFET, and a method of forming a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice comprising a MISFET. The construction may, of course, also beinterpreted as applying to a vertical MISFET, as well as a semiconductorintegrated circuit device comprising a MISFET.

The salient features of the invention as described with reference tothese embodiments may be summarized as follows.

1. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device including MISFETs,comprising steps of: (a) forming a first film over a conductive filmformed over a main surface of a semiconductor substrate; (b) patterningthe first film to form first patterns each having a shape extending in afirst direction; (c) patterning the first patterns in a second directionperpendicular to the first direction to form second patterns eachseparated in the first direction; and (d) patterning the conductive filmby using the second patterns to form a gate electrode of a first MISFETand a gate electrode of a second MISFET, wherein the gate electrode ofthe first MISFET and the gate electrode of the second MISFET arearranged, in the first direction, adjacent to each other.
 2. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the first film includes a silicon oxidefilm.
 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein each of the gateelectrodes of the MISFETs has a rectangle shape such that a width in thefirst direction of the rectangle shape is greater than a width in thesecond direction of the rectangle shape.
 4. A method according to claim1, wherein, in the step (d), a gate electrode of a third MISFET isformed by patterning the conductive film such that the gate electrode ofthe second MISFET is arranged, in the first direction, between the gateelectrode of the first MISFET and the gate electrode of the thirdMISFET, wherein each of the first MISFET and the second MISFET is an nchannel MISFET, and wherein the third MISFET is a p channel MISFET.
 5. Amethod of manufacturing a semiconductor device including MISFETs,comprising steps of: (a) forming a first film over a conductive filmformed over a main surface of a semiconductor substrate; (b) patterningthe first film to form first patterns each having a shape extending in afirst direction; (c) patterning the first patterns in a second directionperpendicular to the first direction to form second patterns eachseparated in the first direction; and (d) patterning the conductive filmby using the second patterns to form a plurality of gate electrodes ofMISFETs such that the MISFETs are arranged, in the first direction,adjacent to each other.
 6. A method according to claim 5, wherein thefirst film includes a silicon oxide film.
 7. A method according to claim5, wherein each of the gate electrodes of the MISFETs has a rectangleshape such that a width in the first direction of the rectangle shape isgreater than a width in the second direction of the rectangle shape. 8.A method according to claim 5, wherein, in the step (d), a gateelectrode of a first MISFET, a gate electrode of a second MISFET and agate electrode of a third MISFET are formed by patterning the conductivefilm and are arranged in the first direction such that the gateelectrode of the second MISFET is arranged, in the first direction,between the gate electrode of the first MISFET and the gate electrode ofthe third MISFET, wherein each of the first MISFET and the second MISFETis an n channel MISFET, and wherein the third MISFET is p channelMISFET.